Attacks and Flare Ups
With your condition(s) do you use the term attack or flare up or both?
Do you use these terms interchangeably? If not, what differences do you see between the two?
@AffyAvo
Hi Affy, interesting question!
I would reply even if I haven't any condition associated to that, but I suppose both explain that a situation suddenly starts or gets worse.
@AffyAvo
I feel like I tend to use "flare up" more often
I use both, but not interchangeably. To me an attack is something acute, and fairly serious (although the body part might not be vital). Examples - heart attack, gout attack, asthma attack. The term for an HAE swell is an attack.
A flareup is over a longer period of time, and typically isn't an immediate onset, or if it is it isn't readily apparant that it will be a flare. So an asthma flare up would like be a period of time where I might have breathing difficulties, and may include a timeframe where I have asthma attacks. 1 asthma attack would not equate to a flareup. Skin conditions I tend to think of as flareups although I would think of erythrodermic psoriasis as being an attack.
@AffyAvo
yeah, I agree with that. I would use "attack" for something with a more sudden onset or greater intensity, and "flare up" more generally for the start-up of issues. I also feel like "attack" better describes shorter lived events, whereas "flare-up" may have a longer duration. (like having anxiety vs having an anxiety attack...similar physically but with different intensity/duration)
@Elle22 @AffyAvo What an interesting question! I haven't thought much about the words I use for this before. I agree with both of you, however I tend to say episode instead of attack. Like, if throughout the course of a day, one of my illnesses acts up acutely (maybe for a few hours) I say I'm having an episode. But if it's an exacerbation that lasts for days/weeks/months, I call it a flare up.
@caseylavender Thanks for bringing this term up! I have heard it used before, but way less often than the other 2. I'm wondering if it's mostly related to brain involvement (ie. I'm thinking of fainting and seizures). Or are there other things with not as direct brain involvement that it's commonly used for?
@AffyAvo You make a good point mentioning that the term "episode" might be used more when the brain or cognitive state involved. When I experience what I would consider an episode, it usually does involve fainting or nearly fainting and being unable to think very clearly. If I'm talking about being in more physical pain than usual one day, I might just say that I'm in a lot of pain that day (instead of saying I'm experiencing an attack/episode/flareup/etc.)
@AffyAvo With my chron's and fistulas I always say flare up I never use or used the term attack. The doctors always called it flare up so I call it a flare up when the chron's and fistulas act up.